HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana helped its Southland Conference Tournament chances Saturday, downing in-state rival Nicholls, 69-61, in conference play at the University Center.

The Lions (6-18, 4-7 Southland) moved into a tie with the University of New Orleans for what would be the No. 5 seed in the tournament. Southeastern has seven games remaining in the regular season, two against UNO.

In the first half, Nicholls (7-19, 3-9 Southland) converted shots at a rate of 55.6 percentage (15-fof-27) as it raced out to a 39-31 lead at the half.

Southeastern pulled within four, 29-25, at the 4:15 mark of the first half on a Zay Jackson free throw, but the Colonels strung together a 10-0 run. A 3-pointer by Quinton Thomas (1:47) capped the streak, putting Nicholls up, 39-25.

Getting in gear for the second half, the Lions scored the final six points leading up to halftime on a Dimi Cook 3-pointer (1:37), a Dominic Nelson free throw (0:41) and a jump shot by Joshua Filmore (0:18).

In the second half Southeastern played lock-down defense, out-scoring the Colonels, 38-22.

The Lions tied up the game, 52-52, on a free throw by Jackson at the 7:32 mark that finished off a 3-point play. The Hammond native followed up by sinking one from beyond the arc for good measure just 12 seconds later.

Southeastern would pad its lead, holding on for the win.

Jackson led all scorers with 16 points. Cook (15), a redshirt freshman from Gulfport, Mississippi, also reached double-digit points. Moses Greenwood led the squad with nine rebounds.

James Currington, who returned to the lineup for the first time in exactly two months, contributed seven points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes of action.

Southeastern shot 38.5 percent (20-of-52) from the floor, including 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from 3-point range. The Lions converted 24-of-40 (60.0 percent) from the free throw line and out-rebounded the Colonels, 44-26.

Ja'Dante' Frye led Nicholls with 12 points. Adam Ward and Jonathan Bell each contributed 9 to the Colonels' offensive efforts. T.J. Carpenter hauled in a team-best seven rebounds.

Nicholls shot 45.7 percent (21-of-46) from the floor, including 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from 3-point range. The Colonels converted 13-of-28 (46.4 percent) from the free throw line.

Southeastern returns to the court Monday at McNeese (6-16, 4-8 Southland) in a game televised by the American Sports Network and carried locally by Cox Sports TV (Charter 324, 815 HD). Tip time is scheduled for 8 p.m. at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The game can also be found nationally on Altitude Sports and Entertainment (DirecTV 681, Dish 413) or the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (DirecTV 640, Dish 432).

The Southeastern Sports Radio Network broadcast, with Lance Pittman on the call, can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net or via the TuneIn Radio app. Fans can also follow live statistics. Links for audio, video and stats are available on both the front page and basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.  


SOUTHEASTERN LA. 69, NICHOLLS 61


NICHOLLS (7-19, 3-9 SLC)
Frye, Ja'Dante' 6-10 0-0 12; Bell, Johnathan 4-9 0-1 9; Ward, Adam 3-3 3-4 9; Carpenter, T.J. 2-9 1-2 6; Thomas, Liam 1-3 4-6 6; O'Neal, Tre 1-4 3-8 6; Thomas, Quinton 2-3 0-3 6; Kamber, Luka 1-2 0-0 3; Rillieux, Shane 1-2 0-0 2; Caudill, Kyle 0-1 2-4 2; Bissant, Robert 0-0 0-0 0; Nelson, Marquis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-46 13-28 61.

SOUTHEASTERN LA. (6-18, 4-7 SLC)
Jackson, Zay 5-8 4-7 16; Cook, Dimi 3-5 8-9 15; Hawkins, JaMichael 2-8 2-2 8; Greenwood, Moses 2-5 3-4 7; Capps, Jordan 2-8 3-8 7; Currington, James 3-5 1-2 7; Filmore, Joshua 2-6 1-2 5; Nelson, Dominic 0-2 2-6 2; Veal, Marlain 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 20-52 24-40 69.

Nicholls............................. 39 22 - 61
Southeastern La............... 31 38 - 69

3-point goals--Nicholls 6-22 (Thomas, Quinton 2-3; Carpenter, T.J. 1-5; Kamber, Luka 1-2; O'Neal, Tre 1-4; Bell, Johnathan 1-3; Rillieux, Shane 0-1; Thomas, Liam 0-2; Frye, Ja'Dante' 0-2), Southeastern La. 5-13 (Jackson, Zay 2-2; Hawkins, JaMichael 2-7; Cook, Dimi 1-1; Filmore, Joshua 0-1; Veal, Marlain 0-1; Capps, Jordan 0-1). Fouled out--Nicholls-Carpenter, T.J.; Rillieux, Shane; Thomas, Liam, Southeastern La.-Greenwood, Moses; Capps, Jordan. Rebounds--Nicholls 26 (Carpenter, T.J. 7), Southeastern La. 45 (Currington, James 9; Greenwood, Moses 9). Assists--Nicholls 14 (Rillieux, Shane 5), Southeastern La. 11 (Jackson, Zay 4). Total fouls--Nicholls 27, Southeastern La. 22. Technical fouls--Nicholls-None, Southeastern La.-None. A-768